Posted 29 Dec 2016 18:46 Updated 29 Dec 2016 18:56 File photo: Buddhist monks in Thailand. (AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI) A BANGKOK: Thailand's military government on Thursday (Dec 29) granted the king power to appoint the Buddhist country's top monk, a move aimed at resolving a bitter power struggle over the venerated post. The position of Supreme Patriarch has been left open for several years as Thailand's Buddhist factions tussle over a successor. Thai military chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha has refrained from endorsing the front-runner nominated by the kingdom's ruling council of monks, a body